West Michigan Stage Race (or, We <3 Grand Rapids)

After posting completely unexceptional times in the 7-mile stage 1 TT, LPV went on to finish just outside the podium in stage 2’s technical criterium and the following day’s road race. By the third and final stage, our LPVESP showed significant improvement as we were anticipating and reacting to the moves made by the GC contenders and their teams, hoping to get MiMo into the right combination of riders to form a break. The teams of Cleveland Clinic, Einstein Cycles, and Kenda were deep though, and would put a stop to any attempts to get away. Overall, we came away feeling challenged by unfamiliar competition and good field size, but not completely out of our league.

Besides a super weekend of bike racing, we also discovered how neat Grand Rapids, Michigan is. From fantastic host housing in a historic victorian home on Heritage Hill to getting a bite to eat in the up-and-coming Cherry Hill neighborhood, we enjoyed our time in GR so much we will definitely be back. The wellness center/coffee shop collaboration could be only a pipe dream, but look for LPV to target WMSR in 2013 for sure. We might even wear pointy hats during the time trial.